Art of making shoes



Se t'. 30, 1930. H. E. UPHKM 1,776,824

ART OF MAKING SHOES Filed May 10, 1924 anvil v Patented Sept. 30, 1930HA RY E. UPHAM, on WAKEFIEL n] MASSACHUSETTS,

lemma To" UNITED 'snon- MACHINERY COBBORATION, on PATERSON, NEWJERSEY,-A CORPORATION onN-Ew J ns n.

7 a e on MAKING- sH s 4 Application m d Ma a, ieeeis'erm No. 712,218

This invention relates to improvements in the art of making shoes and sherein llustrated as concerned with a method of pro-,

cln'cing a socalled close shank effect in shoe,

' appersefthat the'crease between the upper and'the sole is'snbstantiallycl'ose d at the shank, and a close shank effect isp'rodn'ced'. It is often difh'ciilt, however, particularly in the-1nandfacture of Goodyear Welt shoes, to

Jprodnce and permanently retain this close; sha'nlbeileet. In the-oeration *oi attaching the on'tsol'e of a Welt shoe the sewinginstrumentalities"enterthe Welt crease and force the Welh together withthe sole margin away-I rem the npperf Consequently; after the ontsolestitching has been completed it hasbeen ne-ce'ssery heretofore t0'ponnd'or rub the soles with a great deal 'ei' force in order tobendtheedges oil the sh anlr toward the'u o'per. Snch heavy poundingfrequently breaks the ontso'le stitches or otherwise nres the shoe.Fnttherin ore; in a Welt shoe in which the Out- P01010113 at oppositesides of the shanl': are not permanently set in the. desired closerelation-t he upper and they are liable tilthnat'e-= 1y to pnll awayfrom thenpper 901 that the close shank effect is destroyed and vantagesincident thereto are lost. a

In View 01"- the foregoing, one "object of the present inventienis tosecure and p-erman eitit 13 to retain a close shankor close edge effectsuch as above referred to, Without sirbjectin the soleto heavy poundingofrhar'sh treatmen-t er any sort, onto any operations tend:- ing tobreak the stitches or damage the sole,

W ith this object 'in Vl6W,' the present in vention provides an improvedmethod Which in one aspect consists in reducing the cohesien orresistance to'stretching' of thelnia teri-al one side of a sole along aline-extending lengthwise .of'the sole edge, and

bending toward the opposite side of the sole the marginal portionadjacent to said line;

Preferably and as illustrated, the reducing the ad- 1 of the plane ofthe body operation W111 be accomplished by seein the 'sole part Waythrough upon thegrain side'at a blunt angle to the face of the sole andat a predetermined distance from its w edge, the slit thus lying inaplane japproxi na'tely parallel to theedge face of'the soleiPreferably'alsO the sole will be channeled 1 before it is slit'and theslit will belormed in the channel and adj acelit to thebase of thechannel flapat each side of the shank-portion of thesole. vTl'l'e'channeling and slitting operations may OCCIllf simultaneously andtheyrn'aybe "effected b-ythe oper'ation of a single cnttingtool nponannnattached sole or "the slitting may take place either in conjunctionwith the rough-rounding and channeling operation 11p on an attachedsole, or the rengh-roundi'ng and chan 'l g Operation-has beeneonlpleted.1a

the'latter cases, the channehflah Will he turned ha-cl; to open the"channel before the slitting takes place and the turned channel flap vmay advantageously be utilized to gnid'e the "slitting knife so as tolocatethe slit ator near the inner edge of the channel.

-After a sole has been slit as above describ'ed, I 1 Its margin, becausetens onal strain ai sole 1s pounded as above described, the bent.

avoided in the outer nemesis TATE- s PAT-EN T oFFfI c is renderedcapable of heingbent to jprod'n'ce' a 'close shank effect by means ofeom panatively' li ght "pressure which has n'o tendency-fto break thestit ch-es attaching thefsole to the shoe or otherwise to damage thesole.

In soles made of leather, the stock adja cent to the grain side or treadface of the sole, is tougher and denser than the stock at the flesh orInner side of the sole and the "chihcnlty experienced in bending 'thes'ole inargin toward the Lip-penis largely due to the stock at the grainside ofthe sole. The outer portion'ofthestoclt atthis side of the solenot only resists strongly the bending of the sole'inargin'bec'anse 01ftension'al strain setup in saidp'ortion, but tends, because of suchstrainsyto return the margin to its orig, inal hatconditipnafter it hasbeen bent out of the sole; In op rating 'up'on leather soles the slit,which is made in accordance with thepr'esent inventhetoughness;andresistanceto stretching of sole, and in accordance withanotherchar acteristic of'the present inventlon, the sole.

is advantageously moistened or tempered before it is subjected to-thechannelingor slitting operations and while still in temper the sole maybe operated upon by light pounding devices or other means for thepurpose of pressing the sole margin into the desiredre' lation to theupper. The resistance offered by the grain side of the leather to thebending of the sole margin having been removed by the slitting abovedescribed, it is compara tively easyv to bend or'ofl'set the sole marginto any extent desired, the slit opening up to permit the bending to"take place without stretching, or setting up tensional strains in,

the materialfat the ,"grain side of the sole,

that is, in the outer portion of its thickness.

After the sole margin has been bent the sole is allowed to dry and as itdries the sole material shrinks in sucha way that the sole tends tobend'or curl transversely toward the flesh side thereof' This is chieflyon account of the fact that the surface at the flesh side 'of thesolecis continuous throughout its entire length, whereas the -continuityof the surface at the grain side of the sole is interrupted widthwise ofthe sole by the slits made therein. After the margin of'a tempered solehas been bent toward the. upper and there after allowed to dry, it willbe permanently set in its bent condition-as a result of the shrinkage ofthe leather, the shrinkage being more effective at the flesh side thanatthe grain side of thev sole,*as above explained. Moreover, after thesole margin has been bent to the desired extent, if the sole has beenchanneled, the laying of the channel flap to close the channel and thecementing of the channelflap in place upon thebent margin of the sole,tends effectively ,to' preventreverse bending of the sole margin andthus insures that'the' close shank effect will be permaneatly retained.

A'further feature of the present invention is to be recognized in theprovision of a new article of manufacture compr sing a sole having" aslit or depression atone side thereof extending lengthwise ofand locatedadjacent to the sole edge, the slit lying in a plane approximatelyparallel to the edge face of the sole, the purpose of the slit being toreduce the cohesion of the material at the slit, side of the sole so asto facilitate the bending of the sole margin toward theopposite side ofthe sole, Preferably the slit is out Within a stitch-receiving channelformed in the grain side of a leather sole and is directed down.

wardly into the sole material at or near the base of the channel flap.In the accompanying drawings,

' Fig. 1 is a plan view of the outer or bottom face of an outsoleshowing the location therein of slits made in accordance with the meth-0d of the present invention for the purpose of adapting the edges of thesole for snug engagement with the upper at the shank of the shoe; Fig. 2isa cross-sectional View through the shank portion of a Goodyear weltshoe in process of manufacture, showing particularly the outsole afterit has been channeled and slit'in accordance with the present invention,but before it has been attached to the welt and bent toward the upper,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, similar to Fig. 2, but showing the outsoleas it appears after it has been attached to the welt and after theopposite edge portions of the shank have been bent against the upper;

Figs. 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views through the shank of an outsolefor a McKay sewed shoe showing the location of slits for facilitatingthe bending of the sole to produce a closeshank effect;'and

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan View of a welt shoe the outsole of which hasbeen channeled to receive stitches along the inner edge only of theshank, the sole having been stitched aloft along the other portions ofits margin.

Referring first to Fig. 2, the outsole of a Goodyear welt shoe isindicated at 6, the insole at8, the upper at 10, the welt at 12, and thelast at 14. The welt, the upper and the insole are secured together inthe usual manner by means of inseam stitches 16 and a suitable filler 18is applied to the insole. In accordance with one manner in which themethod of the present invention may be practised the outsole 6, havingfirst been tempered, is coated with cement and laid upon the lastedshoe. The sole is then roughrounded and channeled in the usual manner,the channel being indicated at 20. After the channeling operationhasbeen completed, the channel flap 22is raised and a slitting knife isdrawn along the base of the channel flap at each side of the shank, theknife cutting downwardly into the material of-the sole to make the slits24 at a blunt angle to the face of the sole, said slit preferably lyingin a plane approximately parallel to the edge face of the sole. Bydrawing the slitting knife along the inner extremity of the channel, theknife may be guided so that each slit will be located at the base of thecorresponding channel flap. It may be convenient to incline the slittingknife somewhat to the perpendicular so that the slit will be inclineddownwardly and inwardly with respect to the plane of the channel asherein illustrated. If desired the slit may be spaced outwardly moreorless from the inner edge of the channel. Suita- I ceived in the channel:20. The op ole provision should be made for limiting the distance towhich the slittingkrriie is permitted to penetrate into the material ofthe sole.

in accordancewith thethickness of thegsole being operated upon. i I

While the channel 3 remainsin raised position, thewelt and the outsoleare secured together by means of stitches, suchas indi cated 2113.26 ini ig. 3, the stitches being re- I site margins oitthe sole at the shankmay-then be pressed ClTflflGDl? toward the upperyby light pressureexerted by any suitable means such as the tool of a rotary poundingmachine. Before the channel flaps are laid, the sole is permitted todry. As the sole dries, the shrinkage of the material at the inner orflesh side thereof eaerts tension on the marginal portions of the solewhich tends to hold the latter in their bent positions in closeengagement with the upper. noticed that the sides of the slits separatesomewhat shown in Fig. 3 to enablethe sole margins to be bent backwardlywithout stretching-or tensioningthe,material at the The tension. or,

grain side of the outsole transverse pull resulting from the shrinkageof the material at the outer or grain side of the sole isrendered'ineilective tooilset the tension at the inner face of the soleby the slits 24. its a result, the bent 'openihgeit t margins of t esole are permanently set in engagement with the upper and there isractically no influence tending to restore them to thefplan'e of thebody of the sole. Even if the sole margins are not pressed back intoclose engagement with the shoe upper, the herein-describcd slitting ofthe sole margin s erves niaterially to relieve the strain upon both theinseam and outsole stitches and as a result the stithhes are renderedless liable to give way along the slit portions of the sole. After thesole has become thoroughly dry, the channel flaps are laid to close thechannelaiid cover the stitches and the flaps are firmly cements/dinplace, as shown in Fig. 3. The cemented channel flaps serve asadditional means for insuring that the sole margin will be permanentlyretained in its bent condition. i

In case it may bedesired to manufacture shoes with a closeinside shankand a straight outside sh-a.nk,or vice vereznit to he i derstood thatthe slits may be made either the inside or outside marginal portions oithe shank of the sole instead of at both marginal portions as abovedescribed.

. In making welt shoes a close shank along the inside margin of theshank may be produced by channeling" thein side the "n of the shank,slitting the niaterial'beneath the channel flap as shown at 40in Fig; 6,attaching the outsole to the welt and upper In practice, the extent oi?the amount; of penetration of the slitting knife'will vary It will be 7bent toward V sole for awelt shoe may be channeled and by stitchingaloft, i-. (e -"causing the stitches to lie substantially flush withthet reed face of the sole, along the outer {margin of the shank and atboth sides of the forepart as indicated in full lines at 42 inFig."6,and

by stitching within the channel along the cases to cut the slit directlyin the grain or tread face ofthesole, eitherbefore or after the sole isattached to the shoe. If cut di rect ly 1n the tread face ofthesolethcslit,

which is opened niore or less by the-sub sequent bending oi the solemarg n, may be filled with suitable tiller material in-order that thecontinuity ofthe tread "face of the soleshall not be interrupted by theslit.

The method of the present invention is not limited in its application tothe construction of shoes in which the inarginof the outsole lies closeto the upper only atthel shank of the shoe, but inayapplyialso to shoesin which other portions of the soleinarg' are the upper. Forexainple, anout slit around the toe and along both edges oi the foreparh'as'well-asalong both edges of the shank to facilitate the flexing or bending ofthe sole to produce the so-called ballbottom effect in imitation of aturnshoe. The various'steps of the herein descri ed method may heperformed upon ontsoles tor McKay sewed shoes, as well as upon outsolesfor welt shoes. lVhen 'outsoles forltilclay shoes aresli't in accordancewith the method of this inventiomthe s'ole inargins will hug the uppermore closely at the portions of ti a sole which are slit thanwould hethe caseitt the slitting operationwere not JET'IOFIQCH In lvIcKay work,the oiiits'ole connno l7 7 channeled beforethe sole is located upon the7 shoe. A lvicKay-outsol'e is shown at in Fig. and the usual'channel isindicated at 30, the channel having a groove 32 the-rein forreceivingthe outsole The slit for facilitating; the bending of the solemargin may be made along a line located at the inner side of the groove32 at eit' er or both sides of the shank, as shown at 34,. lVhen. a soleslit in this manner issecaired to the upper and insole of a shoe by theoperation of the McKay sewing machine the stitches serve to pull thesole margin close to the upper sothat the close shank effect may beproduced and retained without requiring the application of 'pressr're tosole margin by pounding or otherwise. If

desirable, the slit maybe at the oucer I lengthwise of the sole edgewithoutaiiecti side of the groove 32, or at both sides of the groove 32as shown at 36 and 88 in Fig. 5.

Having. described the invention and the preferred method of practicingit, what is claimed as new is: V

V 1. That method of fitting outsoles which consistsin reducing thecohesion ofa por- ,tion of the thicknessof the material at one side ofthe outsole along a line extending the edgethickness of the sole,bending toward the opposite side of the sole the marginal por- 3. Thatimprovement in. methods of making shoes which consists in maintainingthe edge thickness of the margin of an attached o utsole unaltered,reducing the cohesion of a portion of the thickness of the sole along aline inwardly of its margin in which portion strains are produced inforcing said margin toward the upper, and closing the crease between thesole margin and the upper by bending' said" margin toward the upper.

- ing shoes having close shanks which consists irrmaintainin g theedgethickness of the gin of an attached outsole unaltered, reduc.-- ingthe coheision of a portion of the thickness of the shank of the solealong a line inwardly of its margin in which portion tensional strainsare produced in bending the margin toward the upper, and closing thecrease tween the sole margin and the upper along the shank of the shoeby bending said margin toward the upper. V c

' 5. That improvement in methods of making close shanks in welt shoeswhich consists in rough-rounding and channeling an attached outsole,lessening the resistance to bending of the outer portion of thethickness of the sole by'a cut made at a blunt angle to the inner faceof the sole and extendim; along the base of the channel flap from'ballline to breast line, bending the sole margin ,to close the welt creaseat the shank portion. of the shoe, and cementing and laying the channel.flap to maintain the welt crease closed.

6. The method of fitting soles which consists in cutting into thematerial at one side of a sole to form a stitch-receiving channel and achannel flap, and slitting the material at the side of the channelopposite the channelfiap lengthwise of the channel in a planesubstantially parallel to the edge face of the sole to facilitate thebending of the portion of the sole at the outer side of the slitintosnug engagement with the adjacent portion of a shoe upper attachedto the sole.

7. The method of preparing leather outsoles to adapt the edge of a soleto lie close .to the upper of a shoe to which the sole is to be attachedwhich comprises tempering the sole, and cutting into an outer portion ofthe thickness of the sole while the sole is in temper to form a slitextending lengthwise of the sole edge and directed downwardly andinwardly with respect-to the shoe at an obtuse angle to theinner' faceof the central portion of the sole so as materially to lessen theresistanceof the sole to bending along the line of the slit.

8. That improvement in the art of making shoes which consists in formingin a sole a stitch-receiving channel and a slit extending "lengthwiseof. the sole edge and downwardly from the channel toward the unchairneled face of the sole, and bending the marginal portion of the solealong the line weakened by the slit.

9. That improvement in the art of making shoes which consists in forminga channel and a channel flap in the grain side of a sole, cutting a slitwithin the channel and adjacent to the base of the channel flap, bendingthe sole margin toward the flesh side of the sole, and cementing thechannel flap to the sole margin to prevent reverse bending of the solemargin. 4. That improvement n1 methods of mah- 10. That improvement inthe manufacture of shoes which consists in forming a marginal channel atthe grain side of an outsole, slitting from within the channel towardthe unchanneled face of the sole, and attaching the sole to the shoe bystitches received in said channel, and extending through the portion ofthe sole outside of said slit.

11. That improvement in themanufacture of welt shoes which consists inlaying the outsole upon a lasted upper to which the welt has beenattached, rough-rounding and channel ing the outsole, slitting thematerial at the base of thech annel flap downwardly toward the innerside of the outside along the shank thereof, stitching the outsole andwelt together, and applying pressureto the portion of theoutsole'outside of the slit to bend it snugly against the upper.

I 12. A new article of manufacture comprising an outsole having,throughan outer portion of its thickness, a slit lying approximately parallelto the edge face of the sole to reduce the cohesion of said margin andfacilitate bending of the margin of the sole toward the unslit side.

13. A new article of manufacture comprisin an outsole having a slit inthe margin thereof and extending part way only through the thickness ofsaid margin, said slit lying in a plane approximately parallel to theedge face of the sole to facilitate bending of said miirginout of theplaneof the body of the so e. 1 r 14. A new article of manufacturecomprising a sole having a stitch-receiving channel and a channel flatat one side thereof, and a slit positioned in the channel and extendinglengthwise thereof in the material at the side of the channel oppositethe channel flap.

15. A new article of manufacture comprising a sole having astitch-receiving channel and a channel flap at one side thereof, and aslit positioned in the channel and extending lengthwise thereof adjacentto the base of the channel flap, at the'shank portion of the sole.

16. A Welt shoe having an outsole provided with a stitch-receivingchannel and a channel flap extending along the inner margin of itsshank, and a slit extending lengthwise of said channel in the materialcovered by the channel flap, the outsole being attached to the welt andupper by means of stitches which lie within said channel along saidinner margin of the shank but which are exposed at the threadfface ofthe sole at other portions of the sole margin and the'margin of the soleadjacent to said slit being bent toward the upper .to produce a closeshank effect.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HARRY E. UPHAM.

